Posts Tagged ‘toyota mazda joint venture’

Mazda reportedly will use the new HCCI engine technology in the next Mazda3 model.

Just days after Mazda announced plans to partner with Toyota on the development and production of new battery-electric vehicles, the smaller automaker said it is getting ready to launch a new breakthrough gasoline engine that could give hybrids a run for the money.

Known as a homogeneous charge compression ignition, or HCCI, engine, what Mazda plans to call the Skyactiv-X has been a long-held goal of many major manufacturers for decades. It essentially combines the best aspects of gas and diesel engines to deliver, among other things, extremely good mileage with low emissions.

Breaking News!

“We think it is an imperative and fundamental job for us to pursue the ideal internal combustion engine,” Mazda R&D head Kiyoshi Fujiwara told reporters in Japan on Tuesday. “Electrification is necessary but,” he added, “the internal combustion engine should come first.”

Toyota President Akio Toyota and his Mazda counterpart Masamichi Kogai announce their alliance.

On the same day Toyota Motor Corp. announced a 6% jump in net earnings, the Japanese automaker confirmed it will take an equity stake in Mazda Motor Corp. on a venture that will lead them to jointly develop and produce electric vehicles.

Meanwhile, the two carmakers confirmed they will also set up a new, $1.6 billion assembly plant in the United States that will create up to 4,000 new jobs. Toyota already operates a broad network of factories in the U.S., but Mazda hasn’t operated a plant there since exiting a long-running joint venture with Ford Motor Co. several years ago.

Beyond the Headlines!

“The greatest fruit of our partnership with Mazda is that we have found a new partner who truly loves cars,” said Toyota President Akio Toyoda. “It has also sparked Toyota’s competitive spirit, increasing our sense of not wanting to be bested by Mazda.”